Coaching & Tuning -The Pickard Way
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(Jul 05)
Some of us sail our boats exactly as they are delivered, some of us don’t. To the amusement of many, I’ve spent hours fiddling with the set-up of my RS200, within the limits of the class rules of course! Some of the more important changes are covered at the coaching sessions but we can’t cover it all, so here’s the brain-dump. This isn’t a tuning guide – that’s available separately.
I’ve tried to prioritise the tweaks to suggest what I’d attack first, and finished off with a few tips also taken from the coaching sessions. I claim no credit for the ideas, as most of them have been pinched from other boats or other classes! Many are now standard on new boats.
ESSENTIAL – things I’d probably even do to a borrowed boat
• Kite halyard – in my opinion, the following changes offer the greatest improvement to the standard RS200 set-up:
• A floating block added behind the cleat makes a huge difference. The kite can be hoisted or dropped from almost anywhere in the boat – the halyard will cleat during hoists if pulled from behind the block, and will stay uncleated during drops if pulled between the block and cleat. The block is held by thin rope tied between either two or (my preference) three points: the forward toestrap mounting eyes and the control line block at the front of the centreboard case. It’s supported on elastic tied between the eyes at the back of the jib fairlead tracks and should be positioned in line with and slightly below the cleat.
• A fairlead added to the top of the cleat keeps the halyard in the jaws during hoists and prevents it from jamming underneath the metal plate. I prefer the plain alloy fairlead to the plastic “pro-lead”, as it’s right above the cleat jaws and lasts longer. When fitting a fairlead, take the opportunity to replace the cleat screws with bolts and lock nuts.
• A Spinlock PX cleat is far better than adding a fairlead to the standard cleat – the best £20 you’ll spend on your boat! In conjunction with a floating block, the Spinlock will stay cleated all the way through a hoist and uncleated all the way through a drop. Faster hoists and drops, less snags and knots, etc. – fantastic!
• The halyard routing can be simplified to reduce friction and snags. Unless you’re one of the few teams where the helm hoists and drops the kite, the halyard can run straight from the floating block to the block at the rear of the sock (twin-patch system). With the older single patch system, an extra block should be tied to the forward port toestrap mount, to lead the halyard under the thwart to the block at the back of the sock. Some owners fit this block with the twin-patch system, but I feel it’s unnecessary and adds friction. With either arrangement, the block on the rear of the centreboard case can be removed and you’ll no longer “cheese-wire” the thwart with the kite halyard. Also the halyard can be significantly shortened, reducing the chances of it going under the bow or around the pole. As a guide, with the halyard tied to the pole-eye on the mast, with the above set-up I have 5.4 metres of rope outside the mast, but suggest you start a little longer – see Pickard’s Second Law below!
• Gybing strop – essential for stress-free gybing in heavier winds, basically a length of rope tied to the forward mainsheet block boom eye with the lower end tied around the mainsheet. A change to the class rules permitted decent gybing strops to be fitted – maximum 10mm diameter rope, up to 1 metre long and with a block or ring at the lower end. My experience is that the gybing strop needs to be just shorter than the distance from the boom to mainsheet ratchet, with full kicker on. If it’s any longer than this it will jam in the ratchet. The rules also clearly state that the gybing strop may only be used during a gybe – not for 1:1 pumping of the main downwind!
• Tweaker line – it’s critical to correctly adjust the length of the tweaker line (i.e. the elasticated line emerging from inside the kite pole, clipped to the line running up the mast). When adjusted correctly, the line becomes tight when the pole is at maximum extension. If it’s too slack, the kite head won’t be held against the mast and the tweaker line will chafe and break; if it’s too tight, the pole won’t extend to its maximum, reducing off-wind performance. To adjust it, lock the pole out at maximum extension by tying a rope to the launch-line block and cleating it in the halyard cleat. Then untie one of the tweaker line clips, pull the tweaker line through the clip until tight, and finally tie it off. It’s worth checking this fairly regularly. Alternatively, the class rules have recently been changed to permit the removal of the tweaker line. I recommend this approach unless you regularly use the “Square Running System”. Basically you remove the rubber grommet where the tweaker line exits the mast and replace it with a spinnaker halyard sheave. The kite halyard is then run through this sheave instead of the upper sheave – hey presto, no broken tweaker lines! The lower end of the tweaker line (at the rear of the kite pole) can simply be left as it is.
NECESSARY – the minimum I’d do to my own boat before racing it
• Rope lengths – as supplied, most the ropes are a fairly generous length. Pickard’s First Law says that, if a rope can catch somewhere, it will – usually around your feet on a windy gybe! Through trial and error (Pickard’s Second Law says that there will be many errors – cutting the kite halyard too short is my favourite), you should minimise the length of all the ropes, especially halyards, control lines (incl. outhaul), and sheets.
• Jib luff tension – think you can’t point? Most of the jibs seem to leave Hydes’ loft with the luff tied very tight. Like pulling cunningham tension on the main, this leads to a full entry. This may be ideal for wind and waves, when drive’s more important than pointing, but gives poor upwind performance on flatter water when pointing becomes more important. With the sail hoisted and rig tension on, untie the string at the tack of the jib. The jib luff tension should be adjusted for different conditions – minimum tension (i.e. some horizontal creases at the luff) for lighter winds and flat water, more tension for waves and stronger winds. The luff can be too slack, however, resulting in very poor pointing and a lack of drive in light winds. If this is the case, try tightening it a bit – trial and error again!
• Kite halyard ball – depending on the strength of your crew, it’s possible to pull the knot at the head of the kite through the tweaker line block on the mast. This will jam the kite up – not quick up the next beat, and often requiring a capsize to free it without badly stretching or tearing the kite. This can easily be avoided by adding a small ball about 150mm from the end of the halyard. An added advantage is that this keeps the head of the kite away from the hounds, reducing the chances of snagging it. Recently Hydes have increased the size of the ring on the lower patch of twin patch kites. Some folks have found that the knot securing the kite halyard to the upper patch can jam through this ring. This can be cured by having a small ball free-running on the kite halyard between the two patches.
• Elastic at top of shrouds – to further reduce the chance of snagging the head of the kite, you can tie a length of elastic between the shrouds, passing around the front of the jib halyard and forestay. It should be approximately level with the head of the jib, prevented from sliding up and down the shrouds with tape around the knots, and not too short or the jib halyard will cut straight through it. The elastic prevents the head of the spinnaker from jamming between the shrouds, forestay, jib halyard and mast during hoists, especially when on port tack
• Mainsheet block height – as supplied, the mainsheet will run straight into the cleat from most helming positions, increasing the risk of a capsize when it’s windy. My solution is no cleat! However, if you don’t want shredded hands on windy days, there is a less extreme solution. Adding shackles or thin rope (Spectra, for strength) between the ratchet block and swivel base will raise the block and improve the sheeting angle.
• Bung elastic – noticed how the bung always goes back in the hole? Annoying, isn’t it! An easy solution is to untie the bung from its metal loop, pass its string through the loop and tie it to a piece of elastic passed around the mainsheet cleat base or control line blocks under the thwart.
• Knots/balls/loops on control lines – when you’ve elasticated the bung, the hole stays free for the kicker, cunningham and mainsheet to go through – so you’re back to square one! Tying a knot in the end easily solves the mainsheet. The control lines can be sorted by either tying loops in the end or adding balls. I tie a second stopper knot about 100mm from the end of the control lines, so you can still get hold of them if they run all the way into the cleat. A cautionary tale – don’t tie the spare ends of long control lines through the toestrap mounts under the thwart. I once tried this on a borrowed boat, but managed to get my foot through the kicker on a tack. This uncleated it, pinning my leg against the leeward thwart. While amusing afterwards, without some quick-thinking by my crew who released kicker on the windward side, we would have capsized with me tied to the leeward thwart – not recommended, especially if the boat turns turtle. Alternatively you can replace the control lines with Spectra and splice them to be continuous. This avoids all the kicker arriving at the leeward side during a windward-leeward race.
DESIRABLE – worth doing when you’ve got time
• Tiller extension – as supplied, the tiller extension is a little too long and tends to catch the mainsheet/gybing strop during tacks and gybes. At best this encourages use of too much rudder, slowing the boat. At worst it jams between the mainsheet and gybing strop, ending in a capsize. There are various solutions. Mine is to shorten the extension to about 1.1 metres and move the mainsheet block eye slightly forward on the boom. Alternatively one or two helms have the “twist-lock” extendable tiller extensions. Another problem is the failure of the rubber universal joint. Always detach the extension from the tiller at the end of the day to extend the life of the joint. However, they will all fail eventually, and Pickard’s Third Law says that it will happen halfway through the first race of an important day at the Nationals, when you’re miles offshore. The answer? Carry a spare extension in the boom or front tank. Two other thoughts on tiller extensions:
• I like the Holt carbon fibre “Lightning Stick” tiller extension, mainly because when I drop it on a tack or gybe it springs up in the air and is easy to recover. The heavier aluminium extensions drop onto the leeward side-deck or into the transom and are much more difficult to get hold of – then you’re swimming again! At present I’m experimenting with a Rooster carbon tiller extension – very strong, fairly light and large diameter making it very easy to handle, but not as light as the Holt one.
• As supplied, the extension joint is simply screwed onto the end of the tiller, which is relatively thin aluminium tube and, after a bit of corrosion, the stainless-steel screws can pull out. I recommend removing the bung from the end of the tiller and replacing the screws with bolts and lock nuts.
• Kite snags/chute ridge – check all areas that the kite comes into contact with for snags. Pickard’s Fourth Law states that if the kite can snag, it will – the newer it is, the more likely it is to snag! Check all around the chute, foredeck, gunwales, pole, jib tack and head, forestay, mast, shrouds, etc. taping or sanding as necessary. Also, the new twin-patch chutes can have a large moulding ridge on the underside, which should be removed by sanding for smooth hoists and drops and longer kite life.
• Mainsheet outside boom – the class rules permit the mainsheet to be led outside the boom, as long as it’s continually supported for 80% of the external run. Depending on the thickness of mainsheet you use (I like 7mm Rooster Polilite, or 5.5mm if using a 2:1 mainsheet) this can reduce the friction in the mainsheet system. The external support is important to prevent your head or clothing snagging the mainsheet during tacks and gybes, and can be made from sailcloth, sail window material, overhead projector sheets “borrowed” from work, etc. Loops of rope or tape are not adequate support and contravene the class rules – be warned!
• Elastic for kite sheets – short lengths of elastic can be tied between the shroud U-bolts and a hole drilled in the front of the grab-rail, running tightly across the side-deck. When the kite is down, the slack in the sheets is pulled through the ratchets and a loop of sheet passed under the elastic. This stops the sheets dragging in the water upwind, and reduces the risk of them dropping over the end of the pole and under the bow.
• Mainsail tack – I find the black strap used to attach the tack of the mainsail around the mast one of the most annoying parts of rigging the boat. A far more elegant solution is to shackle a slider (similar to that on the mainsail clew – a plastic one will do because of the lower loading) to the mainsail tack, to run in the mast track. If necessary, a piece of elastic can be tied through the holes in the forward boom fitting and passed over the slider, to pull the tack down. An alternative to this, if your mainsail luff is long enough, is to simply pin the mainsail tack through the forward boom fitting. Either way, the black strap can then be used through the Cunningham eye to prevent the bottom of the main bagging to leeward into the slot.
• Centreboard elastic – the centreboard can tend to come up on windy reaches and runs, even with the friction pad tightened. To overcome this, and the inevitable windward capsize, a loop of strong elastic with a plastic hook can be tied around and under the thwart where it attaches to the centreboard case. Once the water is deep enough, the centreboard rope is hooked onto the elastic. Problem solved, as long as you remember to unhook when returning to the shore!
• Gooseneck pin – ever had the boom fall off the gooseneck during a gybe? Mine used to regularly – painful and slow! A solution, borrowed from the 400 fleet, is to drill a small hole vertically through the boom and gooseneck and put a stainless pin through it. The more recent Selden round goosenecks no longer need this, as they incorporate a clip to keep the book attached.
• Slot gasket – the slot gaskets tend to be slit a little too far forward, so they don’t seal against the front of the centreboard, resulting in a water fountain into the cockpit from the front of the centreboard case on fast reaches. The solution (other than a new slot gasket) is to glue something over the front to seal against the centreboard. Steve Dunn swears by mountain bike inner tube!
• 2:1 jib sheets – used only on windy days to make it easier to uncleat the jib in huge gusts, preventing you from being blown flat upwind. Tie a length of thin rope through the rear part of both fairleads. As long as your jib sheets are reasonably thin, blocks aren’t needed as the sheet will run easily through the jib clew. To rig the system, pass the ends of the jib sheet through the fairleads and then through the clew of the sail. Tie the jib sheets onto the thin string attached to the fairlead – hey presto, 2:1. Even with my lard in the boat, we still get blown flat upwind in proper sailing weather. I first tried 2:1 jib sheets a few seasons ago and they really help.
IF YOU GET BORED – there’s no wind, but it’s too early to go to the pub• Boom chafe pads – SuperSpars do some nice stick-on ones, but I made mine from duct tape. When combined with a correctly positioned knot in the mainsheet, these prevent nasty gouges in the boom where it hits the shroud.
• Elasticated forestay – easier to show than explain, so see the photo. Basically elastic from the mast step runs through a hole drilled in the chute by the pole. The elastic is tied to a piece of string, and a small ball is attached where they join. The string passes through the loop attaching the front of the pole to the deck, then through the bow eye and forestay, finally tying back around the bow eye – very nice!
• Bottle elastics – far easier than taping your water bottle under the thwart is to drill holes in the front and back edge of the thwart near the side-deck, and tie elastic through them to hold the water bottle(s).
• Rope tapering – Spectra rope can be tapered by removing the outer sheath to expose the core. Looks great – ideal for psyching-out the opposition! Can be used on control lines, halyards and sheets (not Polilite, as the sheath carries the load). Reduced friction, weight, and windage. Worth the time and expense? No comment! P.S. don’t taper your kite halyard as the taper can catch between the mast and jib halyard, completely jamming the kite half up – very embarrassing!
UNDECIDED – the jury’s still out on these
• Jib tack shackle – two schools of thought here. One says that a long shackle at the jib tack makes the sail sets better across the pole and chute. The other says that a short shackle should be used to get the jib down on the deck, creating an aerodynamic “end-plate” effect. Undecided, I’ve got a mid-length shackle!
• Horse height/split mainsheet – I will not have a split mainsheet on my boat, but some helms swear by them. The horse should be adjusted so that the mainsheet applies no vertical load on the boom with maximum kicker applied – varies with different conditions and mast rakes. A split mainsheet always applies a vertical load (which I don’t like, but Lee Sydenham swears by) and also tends to explode the rear mainsheet block. Horses for courses?
• Horse elastic – some helms tie a length of elastic across the mainsheet horse. This prevents the horse from jamming under the gunwale (like the Laser mainsheet) which is very rare but annoying when it happens. It also keeps the tiller extension from going under the horse if you capsize.
TIPS – mostly from bitter experience
• If you attach the main halyard to the sail with a ball and loop, pull the ball a long way through the loop before tensioning. This changes the way the halyard loops through the sail, reducing the strain in the halyard. Also, depending on the wind strengths, move the knot by 20-30mm every month or so to reduce the chance of breakage. When you run out of adjustment, reverse the halyard. When it finally breaks or is worn out, replace it with Spectra as this is less prone to breakage at attachment points than the standard Kevlar.
• Even if you prefer continuous jib and kite sheets, don’t knot the ends through the sail. The jib sheet knots will snag the kite halyard and the kite sheet knots will snag on the forestay and jib during gybes. Instead loop the middle of the sheets through the sail and pass the ends back through the loop to attach them.
• Unless you have a continuous kicker, pull all the kicker line to the starboard side at start of race. On a port rounding windward-leeward course, you will want to let it off at the starboard side at the windward mark and pull it on at the port side at the leeward mark. Hopefully if you start with all the slack on the starboard side, you won’t run out halfway through the race.
• After sailing, if the boat isn’t straight on the trolley, don’t slide it around the cradle by pulling on a gunwale as this will damage the slot gasket – get the crew to help lift it by both gunwales instead.
• Don’t leave the kite in the chute at the end of the day, as this permanently creases the stiffening in all the patches, reducing the useful life of the kite as it won’t set properly. Drape it in the cockpit overnight, and fold it between uses (after drying) being careful not to fold the patches.
• Check that the kicker fastenings on the boom are tight. Otherwise the loop can slide forward and will distort under load.
• Mark the kite halyard at the cleat when fully hoisted, as this saves having to check when hoisting.
• Add calibration marks to all control lines. These can be the fancy numbered strips, DIY tape ones, or marker pen on the ropes, spars, deck, etc. They’ll help you remember and repeat your fast settings easily on the water.
• The forestay eye-bolt often works lose, so check it’s tight regularly. Be careful not to over-tighten, or you’ll crack the deck and hull.
• If you have the older plastic Holt jib fairleads, the screws that hold the fairleads to their stainless sliders can work lose, and the fairleads can pull off under heavy load. Unscrew the track end stops and slide the fairleads off. Tighten the screws underneath the slider and refit – no, I don’t have an easy answer to getting them back on with the plastic friction strips in place!
• Check the mast step is in the centre of the boat when measuring the mast rake, by checking that the mast-tip is the same distance from both corners of the transom. A few of us have had trouble getting the mast upright with the shrouds in the same holes on each side. If it isn’t, you may find that the mast step isn’t in the centre. Check this with the mast down and spinnaker chute empty by crouching at the transom and sighting from the top rudder fitting to the forestay eye – it will be very obvious if the mast step isn’t central. If you have to move it, ensure you properly fill the old holes with resin.
• Don’t coil the kite halyard when you take the mast down, as this will twist it along its length resulting in knots during hoists and drops. Instead, run it between the spreaders and pole eye. If you have to replace the halyard, Excel Pro or Excel Race are better than the standard 8-plait rope, as they are less prone to twists and knots.
• Finally, Pickard’s Fifth Law - if in doubt, tape it! I use PVC electrical tape all over my boat, much to everyone’s amusement, but it stops shackles coming undone, split rings coming out, kite snags, etc. As a start, try taping all the following: shackles and eyes at the jib tack and head (incl. the forestay and halyard eye splices), the tiller extension joint, all kite halyard and sheet knots, shroud pins (incl. the top of the shroud plates, to prevent snags), the kite ratchet shackles, all pins and rings (especially the spreaders), all shackles (especially the kicker & mainsheet blocks), tape over the holes where the shrouds attach to the mast (so the T-terminals can’t misalign and twist/break during rigging), the toestrap elastics, the screws in the mast heel plug, and the compass bracket (if fitted).
If you don’t quite understand any of the above, find me at an event and I’ll explain, show, or for a suitable fee help. Alternatively, have a look at my boat sometime. Unfortunately, like fiddling with the rig, none of these will give you instant boatspeed – you can’t beat time on the water, practising or racing with a regular crew.
Cheers
Ian Pickard
RS200 1115
RYA Class Coach
